The Very Best Like No One Ever Was
by Foonator
Summary: My novelization of R/S/E. The story of a boy and his journey to eternal glory, to everlasting fame, to endorsements and the rest. Semi-serious world that is not without its humor.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Welcome to my take on the best game to ever grace the Game Boy Advance: Pokemon Emerald. This fic will be a more serious and realistic than story that is presented by the show or the game. Pokemon can and will die in battle. Teams Magma and Aqua and the Pokemon League will be portrayed differently. But it will not be without its humorous moments and ragging of various NPCs. Certain elements of the show and the game will be incorporated, and I might include plots and characters from other games as well.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. That goes for the franchise and the fictional creatures.**

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><p><span>Chapter 1<span>

A moving truck from the Poke-movers Moving Company came to a halt outside of a nice little two story house in the quaint little town of Littleroot of the Hoenn region. The driver and hopped out of the truck and released two Machokes from their Pokeballs. He opened the rear door and directed them to move everything into the house. As the work began, a skinny 16 year old male, a little less than 6 feet tall, aroused from his slumber. A white beanie with a band of green on the bottom covered his black hair. Green shorts, a black shirt, and white shoes completed his attire. Blinking his emerald eyes from being blinded by the unwelcome light, the boy stretched out his aching limbs (_'Really should have arranged everything so I could have slept on a mattress.'_) and hopped out of the truck. He took a cursory glance of the house and its surroundings with his emerald green eyes.

'_This town seems rather peaceful… which probably means nothing ever changes, which means nothing ever happens.'_ He sighed. _'Which means the future holds nothing but boredom and monotony for me. Maybe I should become a trainer after all? It would certainly please dad and annoy mom enough to almost make it worth it.'_

He strolled into the house, bade hello to his mom who greeted him in turn as she busied herself with ensuring that the last of the family's possessions had arrived intact. He walked up to his room and set the new clock his mother had bought him. The old one had met its demise in a rather unfortunate accident when the alarm had refused to be silenced one Saturday morning. He turned on his computer and set back to unloading the last of his belongings. His computer chimed to alert him that he had new mail. It seemed his dad wanted him to drop by one Professor Birch's laboratory when he had a moment. A few people from his hometown in Johto region wished him well, as well.

"Brendan! Hurry! Your father is one T.V.!" His mom called from downstairs.

"Coming!" he yelled back. He made his way downstairs and caught the tail end of an interview between some reporter and his dad, Norman. He had recently been made the new Leader of the Petalburg Gym, which was the whole reason for the move to another freaking continent. It was fortunate that the job paid well and had some good perks as well, because that move was the single most exasperating experience in Brendan's life.

"Looks like we just missed it," she lamented. "Everything set upstairs, honey?" Brendan nodded. "Right. Well, they finished unpacking everything down here so I'm going to start putting it all away. Why don't you give me a hand?"

Brendan eyed the many boxes of dishes, clothes, and other assorted items. "Actually, Dad said he wanted me to go see Prof. Birch… as soon as humanly possible." His mother eyed him skeptically. "So good luck with all this," he said over his shoulder as he quickly made his escape.

"Well then," his mom said, "if you're going to see the good Professor, why don't you stop by his house first and introduce yourself to his family. He has a daughter around your age, and I think she has a great personality," she said with a wink.

Brendan rolled his eyes and walked out the door. _'Typical Mom, always trying to play matchmaker._' He headed towards the neighboring house. _'A great personality, huh?' _Brendan shuddered._ 'That's what they all say about the ugly and/or fat girls.'_ He knocked on the door and was greeted by a woman in her mid-to-late thirties. Greetings were exchanged and Brendan was promptly directed to go upstairs to meet the woman's daughter, May.

A little kid was sitting on the couch watching the T.V., which was airing a recap of this year's Hoenn Pokemon Tournament. Clips of the final battle were played, and Brendan wasn't impressed with some of the Pokemon one of the trainers battled with. _'Beautifly? That's this guy's opener? The other guy chose Ludicollo; not bad. Ludicollo has good speed and is only weak to Flying. Starting it off with… Water Sport? Oh, he then transitioned to Rain Dance, so it looks like he's setting up for a rain team. The extra water will help fuel the Rain Dance.' _Which was indeed what the plan turned out to be. The water specialist did remarkably well considering the field disadvantage, as neither trainer changed the field from the standard terrain. Between the Ludicollo, Miltoic, and Gyarados, the water specialist won handily, never losing a single Pokemon. The Gyarados probably could've swept the whole team after he switched out with his Ludicollo, but it looked a little winded after it took out the opponent's tank – a Steelix. Milotic barely broke a sweat against the last two. _'Steelix and a rather impressive Medicham were the only real threats from that team. It didn't even look like he had a real strategy for his opponent. How did this kid even get that far?' _The final clip was when the water trainer, Wallace, accepted his trophy and was promptly swallowed by a hoard of rabid fans.

He walked upstairs and knocked on the door of the first room he saw. "It's unlocked," came the answer. Brendan opened the door, steeling himself for what he assumed would be the worst case scenario. To his pleasant surprise, May was easy on the eyes. Very easy, in fact. She wore a blue bandana covered her shoulder length brunette hair, along with a sleeveless blue shirt and black biker shorts. As she turned away from the computer she was working on, she did a double take upon seeing Brendan.

Brendan smirked a little and simply said, "Hey, what's up?"

The girl blinked and replied, "I'm sorry, but who are you?"

Brendan hasn't failed to notice that May's hand had slowly begun drifting towards the pokeball on her belt. He decided to abandon his plan to mess with her a little bit; you never knew what the daughter of a world renowned Professor carried with her.

"Oh, I'm Brendan. I'm the kid from the family that just moved in next door." The girl's hand stopped easing towards her pokeball and her neutral expression was replaced by a warm smile.

"Oh hi, Brendan! My names May. Sorry but I totally forgot about that. For a second there, I was worried that…" May trailed off in embarrassment.

"What? That I was going to kidnap you and drag you off to some secret lair along with my other kidnapees? Don't worry about it." They both laughed a little, until he added, "My basement is getting too crowded anyway."

May gasped and backed up slightly, but when she saw his grin, she scowled at him. "Oh, I forgot to tell you that someone wrote the word gullible on the ceiling," Brendan added with a smile plastered on his face.

May huffed and said, "Yeah, but it's spelled wrong." He laughed and May joined right in after the grin she had been fighting replaced her scowl. Brendan took this chance to glance around her room. Everything seemed to be in a state of organized chaos, as she appeared to be in the process of packing for something. A checklist was up on her computer and it displayed what one would expect for a long term camping trip. A map of Hoenn was up as well, with a route marked in red along with various dots and points of interest marked. A trainer's handbook lay open next to the computer. He also took the time to make sure that gullible was not on the ceiling at all, let alone spelled wrong.

"So I take it your trainer?" he queried.

"Yep, that's me: May Birch, Pokemon Trainer extraordinaire. I've been helping out my dad for a few years, and I officially became a trainer a couple weeks ago. That's when I got this little guy," she said as she patted the Pokeball clipped to her belt. "Wait, is your father Norman, the new gym leader?" Brendan nodded. "I knew it! So you've probably got a few badges under belt already, right?"

Brendan chuckled lightly. "Actually, I'm not even an official trainer yet. Sure, I've watched my father battle, and I'm fairly good with combos and strategy. But I've never battled with any Pokemon that aren't my dad's. I've just finished high school an-"

"Wait," May interrupted. "Did you just say you've finished high school?"

"Uh-huh."

"How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

May's eyes widened. "Sixteen!"

"Is there an echo in here?" he asked with a grin.

May just rolled her eyes. "Aren't you a little young to be a graduate?"

Brendan just shrugged his shoulders. "I skipped ahead two grades. The work wasn't challenging for me and I just wanted to get school out of the way."

"What about your friends?"

Brendan shifted his weight. "I… didn't really have a lot of friends my age; I'm not what you would consider "outgoing" or a "people person. So, that didn't really factor into my decision."

"You mean you don't have any friends or Pokemon?" Her shocked look and the incredulous tone made Brendan slightly uncomfortable, so he shifted his eyes.

"Well, I woul-" Brendan was interrupted again, only this time from May having suddenly grabbed his hand and began dragging him away down the stairs and out the door.

"Come on," May said.

Brendan hadn't had time to consider resisting yet. "Come on?" he parroted dumbly.

"Is there an echo in here?" May asked as she stuck her tongue out. Brendan scowled at her in response. "Come on! We're gonna go see my dad. I don't know if you know, but he's a Pokemon Professor, and he's helped a lot of trainers begin their journeys. So we're going to go see him, he'll set you up with a starter, and we'll have solved both of your problems," May said happily.

"First off, I don't have any problems. Second, what do you mean by both?"

"You'll be getting a Pokemon, of course, which can kill two birds with one stone. And even if he or she hates you for whatever reason, you'll have me at the very least," May said with a bright smile.

"Well, May, I'm touched," Brendan admitted, "but I was going to have you anyway, remember?"

"I thought you said there was no room in your basement!" she protested

"Oh I'll make room for you. Now tell me, does this rag smell like chloroform?"

May stopped dragging Brendan and began laughing so hard she held her sides. It was only then that Brendan realized that she had been holding his hand the whole time. A light blush momentarily graced his face. It was also only then that he realized May had been dragging him along Route 101, which was uncharted territory for him.

"Say, May. I hate to interrupt and all but where are we going?"

May took a few moments to collect herself before she replied, "My dad is working along this route somewhere around here. Something about a change in various Pokemon daily routines, which he believes to be caused by either a new pack of predators or a single Alpha predator. Unchecked, this could end up throwing the whole local ecosystem out of whack, so he's investigating."

Brendan was impressed. "I'm impressed," he said, his state of impressedness showing in his impressed tone of voice.

"You didn't think I was just another pretty face did you?" she teased.

Brendan's undoubtedly smooth reply was cut off by a sudden scream for help. May's faced drained of all its color.

"DAD!" She screamed as she, crashing into the underbrush as she raced towards the noise. Brendan hesitated for a brief moment before chasing after the girl. He caught up to after half a minute or so; half a minute later, they broke into a less wooded clearing. A pack of Poochyena surrounded a tree in which a man wearing a white lab coat had taken refuge. A brown bag laid cast aside on the ground not too far from where Brendan stood now, along with two Pokeballs. He raced towards them in hopes that they were both occupied by something useful. Suddenly a much deeper, much more menacing bark boomed from the other side of a clearing, where a Mightyena had begun charging towards the tree.

"NO!" May screamed as she ran towards her father as she grabbed at the Pokeball on her waist. She wouldn't be quick enough to save her father.

"AAGGGHHHH!" He screamed as the Mightyena leapt into air and brought the man crashing into the ground. Before it could rip his throat open, though, a stream of water hit the savage Pokemon strong enough to knock it away from Prof. Birch, who lay unconscious.

"Mudkip! Use Water Gun again!" May directed her Pokemon as she ran to her father. The blue Pokemon promptly blasted the Mightyena again. However, the surprise of the initial attack had worn off, so it easily evaded the attack. It let loose a rather loud Roar, before charging towards the offending Pokemon. A short game of cat and mouse began as May directed her Mudkip to launch Water Guns and dodge while the Mightyena attacked, all the while evading or just shrugging off the water attacks.

Meanwhile, Brendan had released whatever two Pokemon lay within the Pokeballs. Out popped a serious looking Treecko and Torchic with a fierce expression. "Okay, listen you two," the Pokemon directed their gazes towards him, "We need to distract that Mightyena long enough to let those two," he pointed at May trying to haul her father off "get away. We'll all rush in together and try hit-and-run to keep its attention divided and force it on the defensive. You understand?" The Treecko looked like it had an idea of what he said. The Torchic just looked like it either did not understand or did not care, as it promptly charged into the fray. Brendan sighed before nodding at the Treecko and rushing after the overzealous fire Pokemon, with Treecko right beside him. He bent down to scoop up a sizeable and somewhat sturdy stick as he overtook the Torchic (_"Man this thing is slow."_) and jumped before slamming his stick in overhand strike at the dark Pokémon's back. At least, that's what would've happened had it not heard the attack coming and leapt to the side. Brendan got a Water Gun in the face for his troubles, albeit a much weakened one as Mudkip was tiring itself out from the number of times it had used the attack. He turned around just in time to see Treecko leap over the Mightyena into the tree limbs above and Torchic to get batted aside. It hit the ground and rolled a few feet, before hopping back to its feet and rushing once more, only faster than it had previously. While Mudkip took a breather, Brendan directed his Pokemon as he readied his makeshift weapon.

"Treecko, Quick attack to get in close, then Pound. Torchic, back up and Ember until Treecko is close." Treecko nodded and speed through the branches towards his target, which was rushing Torchic. Instead of following orders however, Torchic continued its charge and was slashed for its troubles. This time it was launched into a tree trunk and struggled to stand up. Before the Mightyena could capitalize, however, Treecko burst out of the trees directly above it and slammed its tail into the Mightyena's head, dazing it as Treecko pushed off and prepared to attack again. Brendan ran towards the Mightyena in hopes of finishing the fight, but was surprised when it shook its head clear and burrowed into the earth. Brendan ground to a halt and quickly scanned his surroundings for any sign of the Pokemon.

'_Dig? Oh cr-'_ Suddenly, the ground burst from in front of a finally standing Torchic, as the Mightyena prepared to use Crunch. "Torchic, no!" he yelled, knowing full well that neither he nor Treecko would be able to make it in time. Just before the attack connected however, Torchic threw itself to the side, but failed to rise again. _'What! How was it even faster than before? Its speed just seems to increase the longer it battles regardless of its current health.'_

As the Mightyena pounced to kill Torchic, Treecko barreled into it with a Quick Attack. The Mightyena howled in pain before it used Crunch on the grass Pokémon's right arm, slammed it repeatedly into the ground, and threw it bodily into a tree head first, thus knocking Treecko out of the fight. By this time, however, Brendan had reached the Mightyena and began to rain vicious blows anywhere his stick could reach. It wasn't long before the enraged Pokemon whirled around and struck Brendan with it tail, throwing him back, winded but not really wounded. He landed almost on top of the bag from earlier, spilling its contents on the ground.

Among which was a decently sized pocket knife. _'Jackpot!'_

He got to his feet after palming the knife, as the Mightyena staggered to its feet, panting and looking pretty roughed up. It eyed the downed Torchic, whose eyes were shone with more than a little fear, and began to move towards it whilst licking its chops.

Brendan hastily launched his stick at it, which connected, causing the Mightyena to snarl. Brendan taunted the Pokemon with a gesture that clearly meant "bring it on" while flipping open the five inch blade which was hidden in the right hand behind his back. It roared before charging at Brendan, who stood his ground.

The beast pounced, and metal gleamed in the sunlight as the blade flashed through the air. Brendan buried the knife deep in the side of the Mightyena's neck, which had begun to sink its teeth into his left arm held out before him in defense, before the its life blood began gushing out of the fatal wound. Both crashed into the ground; Brendan rolled the Pokemon off of him and scrambled to his feet, blade ready for anything. He stood there as he and the Mightyena looked into the other's eyes, before the light left those of the Pokemon. Gazing at the fresh corpse, his blood stained clothes, and the blood that dripped from his knife, he fell to his knees and began vomiting uncontrollably. When he had emptied the contents of his stomach, Brendan continued to dry heave for a minute more. After a brief period of heavy panting, he made his way on his hands and knees to the two Pokeballs and recalled the two injured Pokemon. He promptly collapsed to the ground.

"Brendan! Brendan! Where are you!" May's voice could be heard close by. Brendan weakly began waving his hand before calling out as loudly as he could manage (which wasn't very impressive at that point in time).

"Brendan! Thank God I've fo- Oh my God, Brendan!" she yelled as she rushed over to him. "No, no, no, no, no, no." she repeated as she knelt down at your side, tears beginning to fall.

"Don't worry," he said weakly. "It's not my blood. Here, help me up." May nodded and helped him up. "So, what took you so long?"

"I was fending off a pack of wild Poochyena, you jerk!" She leveled an almost murderous glare at him before bursting into tears. Not quite knowing what to do, Brendan drew her into a hug, which she immediately and wholeheartedly reciprocated as she cried into his chest while he rubbed her back soothingly. This carried on for a minute or so, until she stifled her tears and pulled away. "S-sorry," she said. "It's just that I was so scared, and I didn't know what happened to you so I was worried, and…" She hugged him tightly. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"I'm glad you're okay too," he replied.

"Wait, where is the Mightyena?" May asked with some fear showing in her voice.

"Don't worry, I… drove it off. It's not coming back." Brendan decided to keep the _'Ever'_ part to himself. "Come on, we need to get my Pokemon healed. How's your dad?

"The fall knocked him out, but he's okay now. He's got a twisted ankle from the fall as well, so I left him back Mudkip to look for you. He's really going to chew me out when I get back…" she trailed off.

Brendan decided it was time to get back to the lab. "Come on; let's get back to the lab."

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><p><span>Omake #1: The Clock<span>

"Set my clock, huh? Well how can I if I don't have anything to tell me what the time is?" Brendan stood there and stared at his wall clock for bit. "Well it doesn't feel like 9:00 am. Feels more like 6:30 in evening. Might as well go with that for now." Shrugging, he fixed the clock to fit his assumptions. When he finished, he was suddenly blinded by the Sun shining through his window. "What the-? The sun was on the opposite side of the house not two seconds ago! What could have…" his eyes widened as he turned slowly towards his clock.

"No. Freaking. Way. With this wall clock, I have rejected this reality, and substituted it with my own…"

Omake #2: Mudkipz

As May prepared to command her adorable Mudkip to hose the Mightyena with another Water Gun, she noticed that Brendan was looking at her Pokémon oddly.

"What?"

He turned to look at with a goofy grin. "So I heard you liek Mudkipz."

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><p><strong>First chapter finished. I never really understood why an apparent expert in Pokémon would be afraid of a single Poochyena or Zigzagoon (get that weak hustle out of here!), so I made that part much more interesting. May will play a part in this story; she might even be a love interest of Brendan's. Who knows? (I do). Anyway, Emerald has always been my favorite game when I was growing up, and it helped fill the whole in my heart after Sapphire was stolen from me. I thought I was the absolute best, until the Battle Frontier came along and showed me just how evil Snorlax, Blissey, and Shuckle can be (I would exterminate wild Shuckles if they were real). So yeah, I'll include the Battle Frontier if I even get that far, and I'll probably have him journey to other regions as well. But that is far, far, far off in the future. So until next time… whenever that will be.<strong>

**Make sure to REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Guess who's back? Guess again. Foonator's back! Tell a friend. With that Eminem reference out of the way, here's the next chapter of my favorite story to write. There won't be too much deviation from the storyline presented in the games this time. Just some more meaningful conversations. Our hero will begin bonding with his starter Pokémon, catch a few new ones, and help a young boy overcome confidence issues. So sit back and enjoy the show as the future Champion takes his first steps on the road to fame, glory, self-awareness, peace with the universe, oneness with nature, and you get the idea.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. That goes for the franchise and the fictional creatures.**

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><p><span>Chapter 2<span>

"I can't thank you two enough for saving me back there," Prof. Birch said. "I just can't believe I was so incredibly stupid to bring to new Pokémon on such a potentially dangerous expedition."

"Potentially dangerous? Doesn't the local Pokémon population consist of Wurmples, Zigzagoons, and what not?" Brendan asked.

"Yes, but I knew that something was causing a disturbance out there, and I still went out with none of my more powerful Pokémon. What if it had been something more serious? Imagine if it had been an Aggron." Prof. Birch shivered involuntarily at that point. "I've seen it when one of them completely loses it…"

May decided to pipe in to steer the conversation towards less morbid waters. "Well, it wasn't, so let's just be thankful that we are all okay. No one was severely traumatized" Brendan stiffened at that, but only Birch took notice of it. "All's well that ends well, right?"

"And you're going to end up grounded if you EVER pull a stunt like that again, May." Birch threatened. "I know what you did was very brave and I'm just so incredibly proud of you. But I do not want you putting yourself at risk like that for me. You've got your whole life ahead of you."

"But, Daddy-"

"No buts, we'll talk more about this later. For now, why don't you just go home and get some rest? There's a few things I need to finish up before I go home."

"Okay, Daddy." May walked the door, but she turned around as she was about to leave and asked, "Are you coming, Brendan?"

Before Brendan could answer, Birch interjected "Actually, he had a few things he wanted to talk to me with."

"I'll wait 'till he finishes then," May said.

Brendan could tell that made the Proffessor uneasy, so he decided to play along with him. "Well, I really wanted to talk to him… alone. Sorry," he said with an apologetic look.

"Oh, I guess I'll be going then. Bye, Daddy! Bye, Brendan!" With that, May left. Brendan turned to Birch with an expectant look on his face.

"Sorry about putting you on the spot like that, but I really would did not want May around to hear this," the Professor's friendly but serious demeanor caused Brendan to grow a little worried.

"And what would she have heard?" _'Hopefully he's not an overprotective father that thinks I've got a crush on his daughter.'_

Birch paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. "It's about your part in saving me. Again, I can't thank you enough, but you seemed… hesitant at some parts of the story. I didn't get the feeling that you were lying, just that you were leaving out some parts. Could you tell me what happened?"

Brendan, without hesitation, told him that he hadn't driven the Mightyena off. He had killed it with the pocketknife from Birch's bag (Birch look impressed at that point, but quickly turned serious again). He told him all the details of the battle and his reaction to killing it. At that point, Birch put a comforting arm on his shoulder. "I am sorry you had to go through all that. Do you feel better now that you've got it off of your chest?" Brendan thought about it for a moment before he nodded his head. "I have to say though, you have seriously impressed me. Not many novice trainers could have handled those two Pokémon the way to you did. Heck, not many people period could have handled that situation at all." Brendan rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I know it is not easy to take the life of something more intelligent than a box of rocks, and you do seem to be handling it fairly well. Please do not be afraid to tell your parents about this, though. This really is not the sort of thing you should keep bottled up inside. I am glad that you told me, but I am no substitute for your parents.

Brendan nodded his head. "I planned on telling my dad first because you know how moms are." They both chuckled at that. "I planned on going to see him tomorrow anyway, so I guess I'll do it then.

"That actually brings up something else I wanted to talk about," Birch said. "I noticed you've finished high school with top honors." Brendan could see where this was going. "You're also the son of a Gym Leader and you obviously have a knack with Pokémon." Yep, Brendan knew exactly where this was going. "Not just trainer skills either, you've got what it takes to survive out there. My daughter has long professed her desire to be a trainer, and I have done everything I could to prepare her for it. Even so, I cannot help but worry about her as the beginning is almost always the most dangerous part." This was unexpected. Was Birch really going to… "So I would like to ask you two things: would you become a Pokémon Trainer, and would you please stay with my daughter for the first part of her journey?"

He'd seen the first one coming, but the second one had been a surprise. Today's events had opened Brendan's eyes about a number of things. While he may have been fearing for his life during the battle, he still couldn't deny that it felt… right to be leading those two into battle. _'Well, more like lead Treecko and watch Torchic do its own thing.'_ He also understood better just how dangerous it was out there. He'd faced down a Pokémon that few would consider strong or terrifying, and he'd been lucky to walk away with his life. Could he seriously not help a sweet, innocent girl like May when she would need it most? He'd known a fair few people who went out on their journeys. Few made it past the first few months. One or two had even died, though they were the ones who went solo. _'No, I can't just let her go out on her own. Too much can go wrong. It's not like a have any reason not to.'_ Brendan breathed deeply and decided on his course of action. "Yes to both of your questions, Prof. Birch."

"Are you sure?" Brendan nodded, and Birch grinned and clapped him and the shoulder. "Excellent, why don't we make it official then?"

After having filled out all the necessary paperwork, they shook hands. Birch then handed over a bag of basic supplies including Pokéballs, Potions, Antidotes, Repel, etc. Then, he gave him two Pokéballs with a rather large grin on his face.

"Are these…"

"The Treecko and Torchic from earlier, all healed up. I figured since you've already bonded with them, why not let you have them both?"

Brendan raised an eyebrow at that. "I wouldn't quite say I bonded with Torchic; he completely ignored me."

Birch just laughed. "To be fair, that Torchic has always been fiercely independent. However, when I was treating it, I couldn't help but notice there was a marked difference about it. You've had an impact on it, whether either of you realize it or not."

Brendan pondered those words for a few moments. "That reminds me. During our battle, Torchic started off much slower than I expected, but it seemed to speed up as the battle progressed despite the fact it was taking a beating. What was going on?"

"Ah, now we are getting to the interesting part. You see, there's been a fairly recent discovery from the Unova region many Pokémon possessing Hidden Abilities. I'm not entirely sure exactly how this came about, other than it deals with dreams somehow. Anyway, this Torchic is the first if its kind to have successfully gone through the process. I requested that my next batch of starters from the breeding company have their Hidden Ability instead of their traditional Special Ability. Unfortunately, they could only get me this Torchic. But that's irrelevant right now. You see, this Torchic has Speed Boost." Brendan's eyebrows disappeared above his hairline. "Yes, you see it don't you. This Torchic has a lot of potential in the right hands. That's why I'm giving it to you."

Endless possibilities danced in Brendan's mind. He looked at the Pokéball in his right hand in a new light. While he had felt that he'd connected better with Treecko, Torchic had impressed him with its tenacity. Blaziken was a fairly strong Pokémon, especially up close and personal. But it wasn't considered the sturdiest of Pokémon, and wasn't the fastest either. Attacks too fast for it to dodge could cripple it and knock it out of the action. But Speed Boost could change all of that. He felt that the fire Pokémon could be great before, but now…

He could be nigh unstoppable.

Brendan once again thanked the good Professor, but before he left, he suddenly remembered he hadn't given Birch his knife back. He pulled it out and offered it back to him. Birch, however, shook his head and said "No, you'll need it more than me. In a way, it is yours anway." Brendan looked down it at (he'd already cleaned it off) before nodding his thanks and leaving. He noticed it was beginning to get dark, so he decided it best to head home.

The moment he entered his house, he was extremely grateful that he had already cleaned up from the battle and that a long sleeve shirt hid has bandaged left arm. His mother nearly knocked him over her hug as she gushed about how happy she was that he was finally going out on his own adventure just like her and his dad.

"I thought you were against it," Brendan stated.

"Oh, I just say that stuff out of concern for you. Your father doesn't worry enough about you, so I have to pick up the slack." Brendan snorted at that. "Hush, you! Let's go outside and meet your new friends."

Brendan stepped back outside with his mother and released Treecko and Torchic. "Treecko and Torchic, meet Mom."

"Awwwww," Brendan rolled his eyes. "Aren't they just the cutest, Brendan?" Before he could voice his disagreement, his mother stepped forward in an attempt to engulf them both in a hug. They both saw the danger that approached them, but only Treecko was quick enough to dart between her legs and seek refuge on Brendan's shoulder. Torchic squawked in indignation as his mother hugged it. "Just look how adorable he is," she said as she turned to face him. Upon seeing Torchic's plight, Brendan laughed.

In response, Torchic launched flames at his head, causing his beanie to go up in flames. Brendan yelled in shock as he tore his flaming apparel off stomped it off. He glared at the Torchic.

'_Is it laughing at me? Forget potential, the bird dies!'_

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><p>The next morning, Brendan awoke to the sound of something hitting his window. Rolling out of bed, he groaned as he stumbled his way towards the window. Looking outside, he noticed May standing there preparing to through another pebble. Opening it up, he called down to May. "Hey, May, any particular reason you woke me up at 8:00 in the morning?"<p>

"So we can get started on our adventure, silly. Now come on, daylight is burning. I want to leave in an hour."

Brendan groaned. "Does it have to be today?"

"Quiet, lazy bones, and do as I say," She ordered playfully.

"Oh all right, I will get ready." With that, he shut the window, took a shower and did the rest of his morning routine, and put on the clothes that had been laid out. In truth, he had been planning to leave today as well, but he had stayed up late packing everything. Besides eating breakfast and saying his goodbyes, there remained only one thing left to do. When he had called his father, Norman, to tell him he was starting his journey, he was congratulated repeatedly, and then told to retrieve a certain box from Norman's closet. He was told not to open it until today, and the tone his father was speaking in erased any temptation to do it early. Opening the box up, took the PokéNav (complete with the phone function) out. Fortunately, it was already charged, something he could attribute to Mom he guessed. Inside the box was a smaller but sturdy looking case. He opened that one next, and his eyes widened at what it contained.

One snub-nosed .356 revolver (6 round capacity) with 30 rounds of ammo specifically designed to pierce the skin/scales/armor of some of the tougher Pokémon (though he knew ones the likes of Golem could shrug it off no problem, neglecting areas such as the eyes).

He smiled lightly at this, as he had been wanting this particular gun of his dad's for a while, and he had often gone at to a shooting range to practice with it. But he recognized the seriousness of what this gun represented and the message his dad was trying to send him.

_It's a jungle out there._

Loading the revolver, strapping the holster it came with around his waist under his shirt, he placed the gun at the small of his back. He made sure the trigger lock, which was easy to remove quickly but had little chance of falling off, was secure. _'I happen to like being able to sit normally, after all,'_ he thought with a silent chuckle.

As he checked his gear for only the fifth time, the reality hit him hard. This was it. He was going out into a dangerous world. Probably on his own for long periods of time. Often times hundreds of miles away from home. And strangely enough, he was not very bothered by it; in fact, Brendan almost couldn't wait. So he slung his pack onto his back and made his way out the door. May and her family, along with his mom, were waiting outside. His mother looked at him with watery eyes.

"Well, looks like this is it, honey. My little boy is all grown up now." Some tears started to leak from the corners of her eyes. Brendan drew her into a hug. "I love you, and I am going to miss you so much."

"I love you too, Mom."

Meanwhile, May and her mother were saying a decidedly more emotional goodbye. Prof. Birch just sighed and said, "You've already gone through this exact scene no less than three times today."

"Only this time, it's for real," May's mother sobbed lightly into her daughter's shoulder.

"Don't you ruin this moment, daddy," May warned.

"Women," Brendan snickered lightly. That comment earned him a few heated glares.

Birch decided to break the tension by giving Brendan his pre-registered Pokédex. Birch clasped his hand and whispered so only Brendan could hear, "Do you have it?" Brendan nodded and brushed his revolver lay hidden, at which point Birch nodded as well. May had finally finished saying her goodbyes, so after asking the other I they were ready, Brendan and May began walking side by side down the Route 101 towards Oldale Town. The trip there would only take an hour or two at most at their brisk pace, and the day was still young, so they were confident they could reach Petalburg City by midafternoon. Along the way, they swapped their life stories.

"By the way," May said, "I couldn't help but notice that you aren't wearing that beanie from yesterday. That, and your hair is kind of spiky. Is it natural?"

Brendan's eye twitched. "Let's just say my hat is… gone, and my hair is naturally spiky. Besides, its spring, so I don't need it anyway."

"…Lost?" May asked.

"Yes, lost."

May smirked. "What do you mean by 'lost'?"

Brendan glared lightly at her for a few seconds before relenting. "Torchic burned it," he mumbled.

May stopped as she burst into laughter while Brendan shoved his hands into his pockets and kept walking. May's laughter abated and she began to jog to catch up. "Oh come on, Brendan, is it really that bad?"

"…"

May snickered. "Is somebody pouting."

Brendan rolled his eyes, but a smile was tugging at the corner of his lips. "I'm not pouting."

"Then it must be embarrassment, right?" Brendan just opted to sigh. "Don't be like that. It's only a hat, after all," she chided him. When Brendan put in some earphones and began listening to music, May just shrugged her shoulders before she began humming to herself.

When they finally reached Oldale, they were practically jumped by an employee who was obviously from the local PokéMart. He enthusiastically pointed out the building that clearly said "PokéMart" on the front, told them it was, in fact, a PokéMart (where he worked), and dragged them along to the entrance before explaining that PokéMarts sold goods that could be useful for all things Pokémon related.

Brendan wondered whether the parents of Captain Obvious had any intelligent children. May thought he was a nice guy.

After browsing the store and determining that they didn't need anything, they headed back out on the road. May wanted to take the time to look for a Ralts, as they were known to live around these parts, so Brendan let her go off on her own (but never too far away) while he prepared to enact his revenge on Torchic. Being the nice guy that he was, he at least made things so that Torchic would get something out of the experience. Stopping near a small brook, Brendan released Treecko and Torchic.

He waved at the two Pokémon. "Hello, you two. My name," he pointed to himself, "is Brendan. Do you understand?" Treecko nodded but Torchic looked a bit confused. "Could you explain things to Torchic?" Treecko nodded and conversed with the fire Pokémon for a bit, before looking at Brendan and nodding. "Prof. Birch gave me your Pokéballs but I just want to make sure that you two want me to be your trainer." Treecko and Torchic talked once more, before Treecko walked forward to stand beside him; Torchic hesitant. "I won't be cruel or unfair to you. We will be partners and hopefully friends later on. I would like to challenge the Gym Leaders and eventually the Champion. That will mean a lot of hard work and battles ahead. But there will be time for fun and all the rest."

Treecko finished translating, and Torchic stood there for a second before looking directly into his eyes and giving a determined "Torchic!" and nodding his head. Brendan smiled and pulled water gun out of his pack.

"Let's get started then," he said with a smile that unnerved Torchic. "Lesson One: Dodging."

'_This is for you, beanie!'_

* * *

><p>May hummed to herself as she skipped along to where she had left Brendan. Now normally, she did engage in such silly activities as skipping, but today had given her a feeling of giddiness she had yet to overcome. It felt like she was floating through a dream and reality had not hit her yet. She and Mudkip had a great time playing with some of the local Pokémon. No Ralts where encountered, but she had not given up hope yet.<p>

The sight that greeted her when she found Brendan was an interesting one. His Torchic was running around dodging blasts from Brendan's water gun and Quick Attacks from Treecko. The poor Pokémon looked drenched, and the grin on Brendan's face was starting to creep May out.

"Dodge!" Brendan yelled at his Pokémon as fired at it again while he chased after it. Torchic, unfortunately, was not quick enough. Brendan laughed maniacally as his shot connected with the back of Torchic's head, and Treecko appeared to be amused as well. But May simply could not let this injustice go on. After all, what had Torchic done to deserve this?

"Brendan! Leave that poor Torchic alone! Just what did he do to you?" Everyone present stopped what they were doing. Brendan looked out May's almost furious expression, then glanced back at the facedown Torchic, before looking back at May with a straight face and shooting it one more time with his water gun. May began stalking towards him.

"What?" he questioned innocently.

"'What do you mean, 'What?'" You know exactly what you're doing."

"You are correct, but I fail to see how this upsets you. Rex and I were just teaching Vulcan here some valuable life lessons. Isn't that right, Rex?" Rex the Treecko eyed the still advancing May with some apprehension before nodding reluctantly. "See? No harm, no 'fowl'." He snickered. "See what I did there, Vulcan is a bird, and said 'fowl,' so-"

"Brendan," she interrupted, "why are you hurting this poor, innocent Pokémon? I thought you were better than this."

'_Uh-oh. She actually thinks I'm purposely being mean to him… which isn't entirely untruthful but it is all in good fun, and Vulcan said it was all right after some explaining. Looks like it's time to run damage control.'_

"Wait, let me explain. We really are training here, the water gun as to simulate a water attack without any real damage, Rex was pitching in to train himself and while presenting a situation where Vulcan would be overwhelmed, and Vulcan was working on evasion and endurance. So I really wasn't being mean at all."

"Oh really? Then what was with that sadistic grin on your face?" May retorted.

"You see, there's a perfectly good reason why you would think that, and it's because – run guys! Run!" With that, Brendan took off as fast as he could down the trail with Rex and Vulcan alongside him and May hot on his heels.

"Get back here, Brendan! I'm not finished with you yet!"

* * *

><p>"Hey, Dad, It's me," Brendan said as he walked into his father's gym.<p>

"Brendan! Look who finally decided to man up," Norman teased.

"Thanks, Dad, you always make me feel so loved," Brendan drawled. Then, he chuckled as he shook his head, and the two embraced. "How's work?"

"It's been great! It never gets old to smack down these young punks who think they can take advantage of the new Gym Leader in town. A Fighting specialist came in the other day, and you should have seen the look on his face when Linoone swept his entire team. The wonders of Belly Drum/Extremespeed and Rest with a Chesto Berry never cease to amaze, no?"

Brendan snorted and gave Norman a mock bow. "Show me the ways of achieving balance with the self and oneness with the universe, sensei." Norman simply laughed and lightly slapped his son on the back of his bowed head. He then looked at May, who had been observing the proceedings with amusement.

"Miss May, it is a delight to meet you again. How has your journey been thus far?"

Before May could expose Brendan and his shenanigans, the front door opened and in walked a short, frail looking boy who seemed scared of his own shadow. He had mildly light unruly, light-green hair, tan cargo pants, and a white button up. The boy practically exuded awkwardness, and stood there for a moment shifting around awkwardly until Norman's eyes lit up in comprehension. "Ah, you must be Wally." The boy nodded timidly. "You're uncle said that you would be coming in today, but it must have slipped my mind. Before anything else though, please meet my son, Brendan, and his friend, May." May smiled and waved at him, and Wally blushed and looked away before muttering a "Hi." Brendan smiled and shook his hand.

Wally gulped before gathering his courage and speaking up. "H-hi Mr. Norman, sir. I-I, uh, just wanted to ask you for some help catching a P-pokémon. Uh, I, uh, don't really know how so…"

Norman chuckled good-naturedly before clasping a hand on his shoulder. "No need to worry, Wally, Brendan here will make sure that everything goes just fine. Isn't that right, Brendan?" Norman gave his son a meaningful glance.

Brendan sighed internally before nodding his head. _'Why do I get stuck helping the FNG?'_

With that, Norman handed Wally the Pokéball that contained Loudred and several empty ones to capture with; with that, Brendan walked with Wally out the door towards Route 102. Wally stared at the Pokéball in his hand rather dumbly until Brendan began explaining some of the finer points of how to handle Pokémon in general both inside and outside of battle before moving on to Loudred and its attacks, strengths, weaknesses, and some fairly simple tactics to deal with the various wild Pokémon in the area.

"What kinds of wild Pokémon are around here anyway?" Wally asked as they searched the woods.

"There's a lot of Zigzagoon, Wurmple, Poochyena, a few Shroomish, and Taillow; some Marill, Magicarp, Goldeen, and a few Corphish in ponds and such; and if you're really lucky a Ra-" Brendan was cut off by Wally's sudden gasp.

"W-what's that?"

When Brendan glanced to where Wally was pointing, his eyes widened. "Ralts."

'_That lucky son of a- wait, what's he doing?'_

Brendan watched as Wally crept closer to the Ralts that watched them, peeking around a tree. Before Brendan could say anything however, the Ralts began to ease from behind the tree out into the open. Wally began to speak softly to the Psychic Pokémon, calling out to it softly and assuring it that everything was ok. Slowly but surely, the Ralts began shuffle towards Wally. Brendan watched on as Wally sank to his knees only a few feet from the Ralts, who hesitated for a brief moment, before continuing onwards. Finally, the Ralts stood within arm's reach of Wally. He slowly reached towards the Ralts until his right hand rested gently on top of its head and began to slowly rub back and forth.

"Hello, Ralts. I'm W-wally," the boy said quietly with a gentle smile. "I've been looking for a Pokémon because… well, I don't have any, uh, friends back home. I'm too weak, too sick, too… scared to go out and play with all the other kids and their Pokémon. So, I was, uh, wondering whether or not you wanted to, you know, be friends with me. So… what do you say?"

The Ralts tilted its head upwards for a second, before moving forward to hug his leg. Wally embraced the little Pokémon before explaining that he had to catch it in a Pokéball. The Pokémon nodded its head in comprehension. One Pokéball later, Wally stood up and stared unfocusedly at the capsule in his hand. Brendan walked up behind him and clasped him on the shoulder. Wally turned to meet him, his eyes tearing up.

"Hey, Wally, that was incredible what you did right there."

"Y-you think so?"

"I know so. I think you and Ralts are going to be great together. You see, Ralts are incredibly weak to begin with. The first real move they learn is Teleport. But as they gain more experience, they grow increasingly more adept with their psychic powers. Once they their final evolved form, they can become very powerful telepaths capable of extraordinary things. Treat _her _well, and she will become incredibly loyal and powerful friend. And as she grows, you will grow with her. So don't worry too much about how things used to be, and take this chance to grow as person."

A few tears rolled down his cheeks at this point, so he stopped to rub his eyes into his sleeve. Looking Brendan directly into the eyes, Wally said, "Brendan… thanks. Just thank you so much. I-I am not sure if I could have done this on my own, but I promise that I will never forget. I promise I will make the most of this, just like you said."

"I'm sure you would have done just fine without me, kid. I didn't have to do anything at all. Come on, let get back to the Gym. I'll try to give you a crash course in all the big things you need to know." Wally nodded. "May is going to be so jealous when she finds out that the first Pokémon you found was the one she spent all day looking for." Wally blushed at that part.

* * *

><p>Hey, Dad. Guess who's back?" Brendan said as he strolled into the room. May was currently passed out on the coach and his dad was just talking to a few of the prospective Gym Trainers. Norman waved at them before exchanging a few more words with the Trainers and dismissing them.<p>

"Brendan, Wally, it has only been 3 or so hours, and it seems that everything worked out perfectly by the look on your faces. So tell me, Wally, how did it go?"

"Amazing! I found Ralts her and she decided that we could be friends, so she came along with me. Isn't it great?"

With that, Brendan left the excited Wally to relate the story to his dad. He crept silently over to where May slept. He took a brief moment to admire her sleeping form before grinning as he leaned over and shook her roughly out of her sleep.

"AH!" May exclaimed as she awoke with a start. She looked around in confusion before her eyes settled on Brendan, who was sporting a mischievous grin on his face.

"Brendan! Why did you wake me up?"

"I just thought that you would want to see Wally and his new Ralts, that's all."

May's eyes widened. "What! How did he get a Ralts when I spent all day looking for one? It's just not fair," May lamented as she flopped back down on the sofa. Brendan chuckled before he rubbed her back soothingly.

"There, there, May. There's plenty of other Ralts in the world. I'm sure that one day, you'll find one that isn't scared away by the swirling maelstrom that is your emotions." Ralts were well known for they empathetic abilities.

May groaned. "You're lucky that I just woke up and that your little back rub feels so good, or I would make you pay for that, mister."

'_Huh. I didn't even notice that I hadn't stopped yet; but hey, if the lady wants it, who am I to deny it.'_ With that Brendan sat down on the edge of the sofa and continued to rub her back as he watched his dad and Wally converse. Once he saw that the boy had finished telling his story, Brendan patted May on the back three times before making his way towards the two. The front door, opened and a man in his mid to late 30s stepped in. He glanced around briefly before his eyes settled on Wally.

"Wally! It's great to see that you caught a Pokémon. Norman, I can't thank you enough for helping him out."

Upon seeing Wally's embarrassed face, Brendan decided to step in. "Actually, sir, Wally did all the work himself. He didn't even need to use the Pokémon he borrowed, he just convinced Ralts to come with him." Brendan nodded his and in respect at Wally.

"Really? Well atta boy, Wally, I knew you were a natural. Better look out, Norman, because it won't be long before he wipes the floor with you."

Norman laughed. "One can only hope so. Well, I'm glad you stopped by today, Wally. Don't be stranger whenever you are in town and have fun in Vendaturf Town." He said as he shook the boy's hand.

Wally smiled shyly before saying that he would on both accounts. Then he made his way towards Brendan before he extended his hand. "Thanks again, Brendan. I won't forget you or what you taught me, and I promise that I'll take great care of Ralts." Wally paused before he smirked a little bit. "If you're ever in the area, maybe we could, uh, have a battle if you, uh, think you can beat me."

Brendan smirked right back. "Look at you, only one Pokémon but they might as well crown you champ already." Wally looked a little bashful. "Well, I'll hold you too it. Good luck, Wally," Brendan said as he gave him a bro-hug™.

"Y-you, too Brendan. See you around." With that, Wally turned around to live with who Brendan assumed was his father.

"Bye, Wally!" The recently awakened May called as she sat on the couch, waving.

Wally blushed. "B-bye, May. I hope to, uh, see you around to, I guess. Uh, bye." With that, Wally hurried out the door with his father.

Both Brendan and Norman chuckled and shook their heads before Norman said, "Well, it'll be dark in less than a half-hour, and you two must be tired. Do you two want to stay here for the night since I'm not going home until tomorrow?" May nodded vigorously while Brendan just shrugged; Norman clapped his hands together. "Then it's settled. Now, how about you show me your team there, Brendan?" Brendan nodded his assent before releasing his two Pokémon.

"Vulcan, Rex. This is my dad, Norman. Dad, meet Vulcan the Torchic and Rex the Treecko."

"Ah, so you two must be the ones who helped out my son in that troublesome situation yesterday." Brendan's eyes widened at that part, before he glanced it his father's knowing smirk. "Don't worry, Brendan, May just told me all about it while you were gone. We can talk about it later if you want." Brendan thought about it for a moment for agreeing. "Well then, are you two up to a friendly little battle while I go whip up some dinner? It'll be the perfect opportunity to bond with your Pokémon. Just do it outside, I just cleaned the Gym's arena." With that, Norman exited the room and made his way towards his living quarters.

Brendan looked at May, who was sporting a devious little grin on her face. She leapt up, her previous state of tiredness forgotten, and grabbed Brendan by the arm and dragged him out of the Gym Floor towards an open field on the right side of the Gym. "Perfect! Now, bring out that Treecko, Brendan. It's time that you two got your just desserts for torturing Torchic."

"Wait a minute, we weren't tort-"

"Let's go, Mudkip!"

"Oh all right," Brendan relented as he brought out Rex. "Alright, buddy, that Mudkip is slower and has the type disadvantage. It's got good defenses though and a solid physical attack, so watch out for the counterattack and especially Bide if it knows it." Treecko take a few brief moments, before slowly nodding his head, and then increasing it as he came to comprehend what his trainer just said.

"You ready to lose, Brendan?"

"I suppose we will see; won't we, May?"

* * *

><p><span>Omake #3: Rival<span>

The front door to the Gym opened, and in walked a boy with spiky brown hair. "Sup, I'm Gary Motherfucking Oak. Pokémon Master." He was in front of May in an instant, delivering a passionate kiss. He stepped back, leaving her to melt into a puddle at his feet. "You. Gym Leader. Badge. Now." Norman gulped before hurriedly giving the teen the badge, who promptly turned around and swaggered on out the door. "Smell you later." Brendan could only stand there, his jaw on the floor as tears born from a sudden, crushing inferiority complex ran down his face.

* * *

><p><strong>Finite! Chapter 2 of my grand adventure completed. Wally got Ralts and a dose of self-confidence. Norman got to see his son. Brendan got a new friend. May got a nap. Great success all around! So with that, I bid you adieu. <strong>

**Please take the time to review. I appreciate any and all input, and I will try to answer any questions you may have. So review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Variety is the spice of life. That being said, I'm looking for a few good OCs to put into my story. They won't have a major role, and unless they prove to be popular, they may end up only show up once. If you are interested, PM the details. I'm looking for Trainers, those random people that stay in the Pokémon Center until the end of time, and some grunts for Magma and Aqua. This is a team effort people, and I have the utmost faith in us. We can do this… together.**

**Also, I'm going to retitle the story and rewrite the summary. If you have any ideas, let me know.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. That goes for the franchise and the fictional creatures.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 3<span>

"Water Gun!"

"Dodge for now, Rex." They had worked on dodging already, and the Grass Pokémon was a natural, it seemed. That, and even a direct hit would fail to do much at this range. It would be best to let Mudkip tire itself out and force May to show more of Mudkip's capabilities.

"Tackle it!" The blue Pokémon rushed the Treecko.

"Jump and Pound," Brendan commanded with a few moments before impact. Just as Rex began to comply, May changed tactics.

"Use Bide, Mudkip!" Mudkip braced itself as Rex descended and slammed its tail down. The Mudkip let out a grunt, but remained standing.

"Push off and back away," Brendan said. Rex complied, and now the Pokémon stood on opposite sides of the field. "Absorb." The Treecko rushed forwards before jumping on the back of Mudkip and siphoning energy away. Mudkip began to look a little woozy, before finally unleashing the energy it had stored from enduring the two attacks. Letting out a war cry that sounded cuter than anything else, Mudkip, threw Rex off and sent him flying a few yards before he hit the ground. Immediately recovering, he found a charging Mudkip right where he didn't want one – about two inches in front of his face.

"This is going to-" 

"HERE COMES THE PAIN TRAIN!"

Fortunately for Treecko, Brendan had planned for this eventuality. The Absorb, besides being a super effective attack, robbed Mudkip of some of its built up energy. Unplanned, but still beneficent, was the additional energy lost from Rex being thrown off. So instead of seriously debilitating Rex, the attack knocked the wind out of him. He recovered a few moments later.

"It seems you misjudged your strength," Rex quipped. Mudkip merely growled in response. It stomped its feet and gave another war cry before it suddenly began to grow with a bright, white light.

May practically began to dance with delight. "Mudkip, you're evolving!" May declared ecstatically, before she turned on Brendan with a decidedly evil grin. "How do you think your Treecko will fair against Marshtomp?"

Brendan called Treecko back to him as Mudkip's glowing began to change. "Alright, change in plans. Mudkip was stronger than you before, but Marshtomp will be on an entirely different level. Do not let it land a hit, it might be over if you do. Fight more evasively than before. We will just have to wait for the right moment." It was fortunate that Rex was such an exceptionally smart Pokémon, or all of Brendan's instructions would have gone over his head.

Meanwhile, Marshtomp had finally stopped evolving, and stood on its two hind legs giving Treecko a look that promised pain. Rex simply gazed back, confidence showing in his eyes.

"Let's finish this up, Marshtomp. Use Mud Shot!" Marshtomp launched its attack, which was moving faster than before, despite its increased mass. Rex still had managed to dodge, though more speed was needed to do so.

Brendan began to notice that Marshtomp was beginning to wear out. Apparently the damage from the battle, the strain of evolving, and dehydration were taking its toll. Unfortunately, May noticed too, so she retrieved a large water bottle from her pack and threw it to Marshtomp. The Pokémon never took its eyes off Rex while it began to drink the water and squirt some on its skin.

"Now, Rex!" Said Pokémon immediately launched into a quick attack, the water bottle half finished before Marshtomp had to abandon it in favor of defending itself. It swung an arm down, but the Treecko had already rolled to the other side. "Absorb!" He promptly latched onto the larger Pokémon's back and began to drain it of its energy. Due to its stubby arms, Marshtomp was unable to remove its attacker.

"Just fall over and crush it, Marshtomp," May commanded. As the Pokémon began to fall back, Rex leapt off.

"Now, jump up and pound Rex." Treecko leaped into the air, spun to gain additional force, and slammed its tail directly into the fallen Marshtomp's face. Rex bounced off and returned to Brendan's side with its arms crossed and what looked like a smirk across face. May rushed to the downed Marshtomp, who as to unable to battle.

"Marshtomp! Are you okay?" Marshtomp gave a grunt at that before attempting to stand up before May softly pushed it back down. "No, you need to rest now. You deserve it after such an incredible battle, type disadvantage and everything." May beamed at her Pokémon. "I doubt many other Marshtomps would have did as well as you did." The Pokémon smiled weakly up at her, before it was returned to its Pokéball. May then stood up to face Brendan, Rex, and Vulcan (who had watched the battle from the sidelines).

Brendan stepped forward and offered shake May's hand. "That was a great battle May. I'm not sure I would have done as well had the situations been reversed."

May scoffed before batting his hand aside. "Please, it's pretty obvious who the better trainer was today." Then, she stepped forward and embraced Brendan. "Thanks anyway though. Oh, and from now on, none of that handshake business. I'm a beautiful woman, so I deserve hugs."

Brendan laughed lightly before returning the hug. "Of course, Mrs. Beautiful Woman." He relinquished his hold on her before saying, "You really did do an excellent job out there, though; and congratulations on Marshtomp evolving."

May grinned. "Yup. We have been working together for a few months now, and it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I got him officially." May paused for a moment before asking, "Do you think I should give him a name?"

Brendan shrugged. "It's up to you and Marshtomp. I talked to Rex and Vulcan and they were okay with it. If you do though, make it something relatively short, or can be shortened. It would make battles needlessly complicated if you had to shout a 7 syllable word every time you wanted to give a command."

May giggled. "Darn, well I guess "Rumpelstiltskin" is out then." Brendan laughed with her. May grabbed his arm and began dragging him. "Come on, we need to get to the Pokémon Center. I want to make sure Marshtomp is okay."

Brendan raised an eyebrow. "You know I can walk just fine right?"

"We don't have time for your dawdling, Brendan."

"I do not dawdle, May."

"Less dawdling, more agreeing with me."

Brendan rolled his eyes before allowing May to pull him along.

'_Weird. Her hands are smooth and soft, but they don't feel… delicate, I guess. Must be all the field work she does coupled with hand lotion, I suppose. It's probably fruit scented like her shampoo… I wonder what it's like to walk around smelling like a fruit salad. I better tell her that wild Pokémon would probably be attracted by that.'_

"May, you know it is probably best to not use scented hair care products and stuff right? Wild Pokémon will be attracted to you."

May looked over her shoulder, "What's the matter with them thinking I'm attractive, Brendan? Afraid of a little competition?" May winked.

Brendan laughed, "Darn, you caught me. I just can't compete with those Zangoose, though. What with their claws, reflexes bordering on the preternatural, and a killer instinct born from generations of facing off against Seviper. But hey, if one shows up, I'll give you two some quality time together."

May grimaced. "Oh alright, no more scented hygienic products. Unless I'm near civilization or there's a cute guy."

"But then you'll never be without it if I'm around."

"I believe I said 'a cute guy' and not 'Brendan.'" There were a few moments of silence in which he tried and failed to deliver a comeback. "Do you need some ice for that burn?"

"That was, good, I'll give you that."

"Thank you."

* * *

><p>"Thank you for waiting. We've restored your Pokémon to full health." The nurse gave a small bow as she handed May her Pokéball. "We hope to see you again."<p>

May thanked her, and she and Brendan turned to leave the Pokémon Center. "So does that mean she likes it when your Pokémon are injured enough to warrant seeking professional help?"

May swatted him on the arm. "Shush, you."

"What, I'm just saying."

May laughed once. "So what are we going to do now?"

"The sun has already set, so I say we just go back to the Gym and sleep. I plan on heading out tomorrow morning for Rustboro because it takes a few days to get there and I really want to check out the Gym." Brendan looked at May and noticed that it looked like he was waiting to say something. "I think all start my Gym circuit there." She was still waiting. "I figured I'd also stop by Devon Corp. while I was there." Still waiting. "Maybe drop by that Trainer School I've heard about to." Her eyes shown with the hope that he would say whatever it was she was waiting for. "…Would you like to come with me?"

"I thought you'd never ask, Brendan." May laughed before she abruptly became serious. "No. Really. I thought you would never ask. Don't you like my company?"

Brendan away from her and raised his hands in defense. "I, uh, just assumed that you were already coming with me, you know?"

"You didn't answer my question, Brendan."

"Of course I enjoy your company. I would be avoiding you if I didn't."

"Good, because you're stuck with me until I say so. Got it, mister?"

"Mam, yes, mam," Brendan replied smarmily.

"Shush, before you say something else stupid."

"Hey!"

Their conversation came to a close, as they had reached the Gym. Norman showed May to her room and gave Brendan the couch. Brendan relayed what their plan was, and Norman gave in approval. They talked for a bit about what to expect on the route there, and what the Gym Leader was like. Roxanne was a Rock type specialist, and apparently ran the trainer school there as well.

"Goodnight, Brendan, and good luck."

"Thanks, Dad."

* * *

><p>"Are we there yet?"<p>

"…"

"Are we there yet?"

"…"

"Are we th-"

"No," Brendan cut her off.

"When will we be there?"

"When we get there."

"How will we know?"

"…I'm beginning to have second thoughts about me enjoying your company."

"Hey!"

Brendan and May were currently making their way towards Petalburg Woods. They hoped to make it there by noon and make it out before sunset. Spending a night in there was not something that appealed to May, as she had never been too keen of Dustox. Brendan had challenged a rich looking lady to Pokémon match with money riding on the line. Torchic roasted her single, pampered Pokémon without incident, and Brendan had more than tripled the few thousand Poké he had on hand in a single match.

May was watching her newly named Gill playing in a stream while Brendan dealt with a fisherman and his team of 6 Magikarp.

"You may laugh now, but you'll be sorry when they evolve into Gyarados. You'll all be sorry!"

"That's nice and all, but can I have my money now?"

"They mocked me when I passed up perfectly good Carvannah, but I know in my heart – nay, my soul – that these Magikarp are the pinnacle of their kind! Everything about them – perfect!"

"I will roast your fish over an open flame if you don't give me my money."

Petalburg Woods, while not as dangerous or as famous as the Viridian Forest, was still not to be taken lightly. Many a foolish trainer had met their end from the poisons of Shroomish, Wurmple, and Dustox. Packs of Poochyena had been known to attack and kill small children on occasion. Still, the woods had been pretty much tamed by the local Pokémon Rangers contingent; so long as you stuck to the main path, life expectancy remained about the same.

"Look, kid, I know that you're very proud of your Bug Pokémon. I would be too. However, I really do not want to battle your 3 Silcoons and 3 Cascoons."

"You're just saying that because you're scared," the little boy said as he stuck out his tongue.

"No, I'm saying that because I already had to go through the same thing with 4 other kids. So please just let me g- NO! So help me, if you send out that Pokémon, I am punting it!"

Fortunately, their trek through the woods was nearing an end. May had decided to take the remaining challengers after Brendan had kicked a Cascoon right at its trainer's face… and then proceeded to beat him with it. May didn't mind the battles though, as she and Gill needed to get used to his new evolution. When she faced Brendan next, she wouldn't be losing.

As they neared the edge of the woods, a commotion of some sorts could be heard up ahead. Brendan narrowed his eyes and began to pick up the pace. May looked at him curiously before catching up to him. The closer they got, the faster Brendan moved.

"Hey, what's goin-" she stopped as Brendan suddenly stopped, clapped his hand over her mouth, and pulled her behind a tree.

"Quiet," he whispered. He too k his hand of her mouth and quietly took his two Pokéballs off his belt and handed them to a confused and worried May. "I saw two guys, and one looked like he was being mugged. I'm going to sneak up them and try to help out. You're going to stay here and release the Pokémon if it looks like I need help." Unbeknownst to May, Brendan had slipped the revolver out of its holster and hid it behind his right hand. Looking down at it to ensure everything was in order, he silenced May again when she began to object. "No, I know what I'm doing. I know it sucks, but I need you here to keep the element of surprise if things go south. All right?" May reluctantly nodded, so he removed his hand once more.

"Be careful," May pleaded.

Brendan swiftly but silently moved towards the two men about 50 feet away. The apparent mugger had his back turned, and had some sort of black and red uniform on. He looked like he was taunting the unfortunate victim. As Brendan crept up behind them, he cocked the hammer back, and ensured that his Prof. Birch's old knife was easily accessible from his pocket. Taking a deep breathe, he calmed himself before putting two hands on the revolver. As he made his towards point blank range, he began to hear the conversation.

"-erstand, do you? We aren't doing this for money," the mugger said. He was a little roughed up and looked to be rather muscular. His victim lay on the ground before him with blood flowing from a cut on the right side of his head and his glasses askew on his face.

"You honestly believe in what you profess?" asked the man weakly. "That is insanity. That is madness!"

"Madness?" the mugger said as he slammed his foot onto his man's chest. "This is Mag-"

"Stop or I shoot," Brendan said with a voice that was much calmer than he felt from less than 5 feet behind the mugger. The man froze, and began to look over his shoulder. "Freeze," Brendan commanded. He didn't want the man to see the gun beginning to shake in his hands. "Hands on top of your head. Then get face down on the ground. Slowly."

"You're making a big mistake, kid, because this is none of your business. You should leave now before someone gets hurt," the man growled.

"Maybe you'd be a little less talkative with a hole in your head?"

"You don't have the guts, I bet you don't even have a gun. So why do-" The feel of metal against the back of his neck stopped any further remark.

"Maybe I won't be able to kill you." The metal slid to his shoulder. "Maiming you should be pretty easy though."

The man cursed. Brendan dug in his pocket for his PokéNav. He called the universal emergency number, and want through a few automated responses before finally reaching the Pokémon Rangers that patrolled these woods.

"Hello, my name is Brendan Maple, and I'm at the main Rustboro entrance to Petalburg Woods… No, I can't be put on hold! Look, there was a potential mugging-"

"Abduction."

Brendan jumped slightly. "What?"

The previously dazed victim had finally regained his whereabouts, though he still lay on the ground. "Abduction. I'm a scientist for Devon; he wanted to abduct me."

"Correction. There was an abduction in progress, and I managed to stop it… Yes, I'm being serious… Look, can you just send someone, anyone over here to take control of the situation… Okay… Okay… Okay, I'll hold him until you get here." With, that Brendan closed the phone. He dug into his pocket once more, and pulled out his knife. Placing it against the abductor's jugular, he removed his gun and out his h=gun back in its hidden holster.

"May," he spoke up, "you can come out now." The sound of Pokémon being released from their Pokéballs could be heard. Rex darted to his side, followed shortly by Torchic. May and Gill came running towards them. "Brendan! I could barely see you from where we were, is everything ok?"

Brendan smiled, though he inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't wanted her to see his revolver or the fact that it was pressed against a human being's skull. Though it may have been… stupid to lie to May like he had, he didn't want to put her in any danger.

"Everything is ok now."

* * *

><p>He drifted. Seemingly without end, without disturbance, without worry, without thought – he drifted. It was so easy to do. Ride the jetstreams that moved across the earth, rolling along as they caressed his scales. They too, flowed uninterrupted, and were as ageless as he. It had been a long, long time since he was needed to quell the two titans that had shaped a continent with their quarrels. He had only been bothered a few times since, sometimes by objects that fell from the great black sky above him. Recently, a strange life form had fallen with them, encroaching on HIS airspace. That quickly escalating conflict had been quickly resolved, however. It merely sought refuge, and he had granted it at the encouragement of the Original One. Now it roamed the earth, exploring the deep, the fields, the forests, the mountains, and the caves. But not HIS domain; not yet, at least.<p>

Of late the, one kind of disturbance in particular had been occurring more and more frequently. Humans. They had managed to breach HIS domain and go even further beyond, which had earned his respect begrudgingly. A few had even made an attempt to attack him. They had been disposed of.

Nothing bested him in HIS domain, where he alone reigned supreme.

But all this was inconsequential at the moment. He had been roused from his lucid slumber, yet there seemed to be nothing of immediate concern. It seemed the Original One had news. No, not news. More like… a warning. Word had reached its ears of attempts by the humans to rouse the two titans from their slumber. They had been making more headway than usual. His intervention might be needed soon enough.

He snorted. It seemed that for all their intellect, the humans never learned. It seemed history might be doomed to repeat itself. The possibility of millions dead from the very earth swallowing them up to the seas themselves consuming them would not deter them.

They sought to upset the balance, to defile HIS domain. Rayquaza growled in his throat. They should pray to Arcerus for mercy, for he would have none.

* * *

><p><span>Omake #4: NPCs<span>

"WE MADE EYE CONTACT! NOW WE MUST BATTLE!"

"Not again."

"You should save your adventure frequently so you don't lose your progress."

"Whatever you're smoking, I don't want any."

"Just press B to run in your Running Shoes, honey."

"They got you too, Mom!"

"ZIGZAGOON! RIP THEIR ENTRAILS FROM THEIR BODIES SO THAT WE MAY FEAST UPON THEM LATER!"

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!"

* * *

><p><strong>Though it may not seem that way now, Magma and Aqua will both portrayed differently than in the game. It also won't fall solely on Brendan and May's shoulders to save the world. The police and the League will get involved. <strong>

**The last part about Rayquaza was inspired by the Chapter 239 of Pokédex OneShots by Ysavvryl.**

**Your reviews… they make me stronger… give me focus… and I honestly appreciate whatever you have to say, unless it goes something like "OMGWTFBBQ is this crap? This made me want to jump in a pool of flaming, broken glass. Go to hell and take your computer with youuuuuu!" In which case, I will laugh because a well thought out, reasonable response is beyond your meager mental capabilities. So get out of here, and take your stupidity (and your virginity, which you still have despite any and all efforts) with you back to your parents basement. That is all.**


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